


Through the Plexiglass

by editingatwork



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, Gen, average guy Kent Parson, hockey player Alexei Mashkov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 09:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18246935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/editingatwork/pseuds/editingatwork
Summary: “You actually thought,” Jeff wheezes, “that Alexei goddamn Mashkov was waving to you—”“Shut up, it was an honest mistake, he was looking right over here.”





	Through the Plexiglass

Oh.

Oh, shit, that’s—

Fuck, that’s so embarrassing.

Kent wishes he wasn’t sitting right up against the glass, where anybody in a jersey can see  _exactly_  the mistake he just made.

Beside him, Jeff—his now ex-best friend and a  _traitor_ —is laughing his ass off. “Y-you thought—”

“Shut the fuck up, Jeff. Oh god, they’re looking right over here. Why the fuck am I still standing?” Kent sinks back into his chair and slides as far down in it as possible, which does  _fuckall_  to keep the Providence Falconers from seeing him. Five of them had seen his mistake, and two are still smirking about it.

“You actually thought,” Jeff wheezes, “that Alexei goddamn Mashkov was waving to  _you_ —”

“Shut  _up_ , it was an honest mistake, he was looking  _right over here_.” Kent had averted his gaze to his shoes, but he looks up again and sees Mashkov still watching him. Zimmermann is with him, because Jack Zimmermann is the person whom Mashkov was  _actually_  trying to wave over; his  _teammate_ , not Kent’s flabby spectator ass behind a wall of plexiglass. His face feels hot enough to catch fire. He can’t imagine how red he must be.

Thank fuck, Mashkov and Zimmermann skate away from Kent and his mortification. It doesn’t stop Jeff from continuing to laugh, but it does mean Kent can tug his hat on and hope to avoid eye contact with the entire Falconers team for the rest of the game.

Warmups are nearly finished when there’s a sudden  _bang!_  on the glass. Kent startles hard enough to almost knock over his Coke Zero in its cupholder.

“Oh,  _dude,”_  Jeff breathes, his voice full of unholy glee.

Kent feels himself go ghostly pale, because standing right-the-fuck in front of him on the other side of an inch of plexiglass is Alexei Mashkov.

Mashkov grins, waves, and points at him.

Stupidly, Kent points at himself and mouths, “Me?”

Jeff smacks him in the arm. “Yes, you!”

Mashkov laughs, points at Kent again, and nods. Then he holds up a puck, and points upwards.

Kent, feeling a bit disconnected from reality because  _how is this happening_ , readies himself for a catch.

The first throw isn’t high enough.

“Put some elbow grease in it, huh?” Kent yells through the glass, miming an exaggerated toss as though Mashkov needs demonstration.

Mashkov narrows his eyes, then laughs. “Oh, you smart guy,” he says. The next toss sends the puck sailing over the glass. It almost gets nabbed by man in the second row, but Kent snatches it out of the air just in time.

The puck is heavier than he’d have thought. Not as cold, though, and it’s dry. It doesn’t feel like its been on the ice. Still, a puck is a puck. Kent grins and waves to Mashkov. “Thanks, man!”

Mashkov lights up with his signature smile. “For sure!” he replies, a little of his teammates’ Canadian drawl sneaking its way in. “See you stand up so quickly when I’m wave, I’m think, wow, he’s my biggest fan!” And he winks.

Jeff dissolves into uproarious laughter. 

Kent turns pink again, and sputters. “That’s—I’m—” He’s never gonna fucking live this down.

Mashkov skates backwards, waving. “Enjoy game!” He leaves to join his team.

Kent falls back into his seat without meaning to do it.

“I cannot believe that just happened,” Jeff crows. “Holy shit. I need a new jersey. Mashkov is officially my new favorite.”

Kent ducks his head, rubs his fingers over the puck, and smiles. He thinks Mashkov might be his new favorite, too.


End file.
